New Orleans Mission stays open, under new management

Now under new management, the New Orleans Mission will stay open for the summer, thanks to $50,000 in grant money from the city and $30,000 from a private donor.

A day after the top leadership of the New Orleans Mission stepped down, the city of New Orleans chipped in $50,000 in federal money to help keep the homeless shelter open at its location at the foot of Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard. Another $50,000 will go to the Ozanam Inn men's shelter, located nearby on Camp Street. The two shelters combined total more than 250 beds, one third of the city's capacity.

Earlier this week, the Mission's director, Ron Gonzales, announced that his agency would be closing for the summer, starting today. The Mission had only $3,000 in its bank account, far less than the $60,000 it needs to operate each month, he'd said.

But with the new grant, plus $30,000 from an anonymous donor, the Mission will not only stay open but operate open 24 hours, providing a needed link in the city's shelter system, which often closes doors during the daytime and after dinner.

The shelter will also be run by a new director, evangelist and businessman David Bottner, said Mission board chair Bennett Powell.

Bottner will take the job for a year for $1. He takes the place of Ron and Linda Gonzales, who have operated the shelter for seven years but have been under increased scrutiny in recent years because they spent little time at the cavernous shelter. Two of their sons were also on the payroll but have also resigned, effective yesterday, Powell confirmed. Shawn Meadows was head of maintenance and James Gonzales was director of operations.

As the Mission's threatened closure date approached, Powell said, the Mission's board worked closely with Deputy Mayor Cedric Grant and Stacy Horn-Koch, who oversees homeless services. Bottner, a marketing consultant and motivational speaker who runs a Slidell agency called Compassion Outreach, had approached Horn-Koch about helping to house homeless people and so she hooked him up with the board, Powell said.

As the changes were announced Friday at City Hall, there was scarce discussion of the Gonzaleses or the Mission's past missteps. Bottner nodded only slightly to Thursday's shakeup at the end of his remarks. "We will not continue on the same path," he said.